Converting ASP.NET application to Syncfusion® ASP.NET application

28 Jan 20254 minutes to read

The Syncfusion® project conversion add-in for Visual Studio converts an existing ASP.NET application into the Syncfusion® ASP.NET (Essential® JS 1) application by adding the necessary assemblies and resource files.

IMPORTANT

The Syncfusion® ASP.NET Web Application Project Conversion utility is available beginning with v13.1.0.30.

The following steps will assist you to use the Syncfusion® Project conversion in your existing ASP.NET application:

Before use, the Syncfusion® ASP.NET Web Forms Project Conversion, check whether the ASP.NET Web Forms Extensions - Syncfusion® installed or not in Visual Studio Extension Manager by clicking on the Tools -> Extensions and Updates -> Installed for Visual Studio 2017 or lower and for Visual Studio 2019 by clicking on the Extensions -> Manage Extensions -> Installed. Also, check whether the corresponding Essential Studio® version build installed or not. If the Essential Studio® version is not same for both the Extension and build, then the Project Conversion will not be shown.

  1. Open an existing Microsoft ASP.NET Project or create a new Microsoft ASP.NET Project.

  2. Open the conversion dialog by selecting one of the following options:

    Option 1
    Click Syncfusion® Menu and choose Essential Studio® for ASP.NET Web Forms (EJ1) > Convert to Syncfusion® ASP.NET Application… in Visual Studio.

    Syncfusion<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> Essential<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> JS 1 ASP.NET Web Forms Project Conversion via Syncfusion<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> menu

    NOTE

    In Visual Studio 2019, Syncfusion® menu is available under Extensions in Visual Studio menu.

    Option 2
    Right-click the Project from Solution Explorer, select Syncfusion® Web (Essential® JS 1), and choose the Convert to Syncfusion® ASP.NET (Essential® JS 1) Application… Refer to the following screenshot for more information.

    Syncfusion<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> Essential<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> JS 1 ASP.NET Web Forms Project Conversion add-in

  3. The Project Conversion Wizard appears, allowing you to configure the project.

    Syncfusion<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> Essential<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> JS 1 ASP.NET Web Forms Project Conversion wizard

    The following configurations are used in the Project Conversion wizard:

    Assemblies From: Choose the assembly location, from where the assembly will be added to the project.

    Choose the assembly location from where assemblies to be referred to the ASP.NET Web Forms project

    Choose the Theme: Based on the theme chosen, the project’s master page will be updated. The Theme Preview section displays a preview of the components before converting them into a Syncfusion® project.

    Choose the theme to apply on the master page of the ASP.NET Web Forms project

    Choose CDN Support: The project’s master page will be updated based on the required Syncfusion® CDN links.

    Choose CDN Support to refer the Syncfusion<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> assets from CDN for ASP.NET Web Forms project

    Copy Global Resources: If you select the Copy Global Resources option, the Syncfusion® localization culture files will be shipped to the project from the Installed Location.

    Choose Copy Global Resources to ship the localization culture files for ASP.NET Web Forms project

    NOTE

    Copy Global Resources option will disable when choose the CDN option.

    Components: Choose the required components.

    Choose the required controls

  4. When you click the Convert button, the Project Backup dialog will appear. If you click Yes in the dialog, it will backup the current project before converting it to a Syncfusion® project. If you choose No, the project will be converted to a Syncfusion® project without a backup.

    Syncfusion<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> Essential<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> JS 1 ASP.NET Web Forms Project Conversion backup dialog

  5. The necessary Syncfusion® Assembly references, Scripts, and CSS, as well as the necessary Web.config entries, have been added to the project.

    Reference assemblies use of Syncfusion<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> Essential<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> JS 1 ASP.NET Web Forms Project

    Scripts and CSS for Syncfusion<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> Essential<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> JS 1 ASP.NET Web Forms Project

    Web.config assembly reference of Syncfusion<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> Essential<sup style="font-size:70%">®</sup> JS 1 ASP.NET Web Forms Project

  6. If you installed the trial setup or NuGet packages from nuget.org you must register the Syncfusion® license key to your project since Syncfusion® introduced the licensing system from 2018 Volume 2 (v16.2.0.41) Essential Studio® release. Navigate to the help topic to generate and register the Syncfusion® license key to your project. Refer to this blog post for understanding the licensing changes introduced in Essential Studio®.